Can the World Economic Forum Tackle Cybercrime?

The Wannacry cyberattack in May 2017 highlighted the major problems that bedevil the various nations affected by devastating ransomware crime. Namely, that targeted nations are often slow to track down the source of such cyberattacks – and once they have done so, they also lack any effective means to punish the perpetrators. Technology experts quickly determined the Wannacry source – almost certainly North Korea – but the British and American governments took five to six months to come to the same conclusion. As for penalties for those responsible, neither country was able to effectively force the North Korean government to change their tactics.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that The World Economic Forum, which recently took place in Davos, Switzerland, announced the formation of a new group, The Global Centre for Cybersecurity. This is an effort to tackle cybercrime through faster, more effective information sharing between nations and private technology companies. Expected to be fully operational in March, the organization, which seeks voluntary participation, has already gained the support of BT Group (a major British telecommunications company); U.S. microchip maker Qualcomm; the Russian financial institution, Sberbank; and Interpol, an international crime fighting organization.

Few would argue with the idea that a truly collaborative effort based on common standards is needed to successfully counter organized digital crime. What remains to be seen is how this will work in a global community that lacks consensus on the following key issues:

Putting Rules in Place

Cybercrime is the cheapest way for nations to undercut and disrupt other countries they deem adversaries. President Obama called cyberspace the “Wild, Wild West,” an accurate comparison considering the lack of accountability, lawlessness and anarchy that presides. To date, the nations of the world have yet to agree about what should be off-limits, and what should be allowed. If that sounds strange, consider this. The United States and European nations raised the alarm when they found foreign “implants” in their networks (e.g., tampering with last year’s elections) but they don’t want to see rules imposed that might limit their own espionage efforts. It is no secret that the Obama and Bush administrations both infiltrated Iran’s nuclear network with the so-called Stuxnet code. It remains to be seen how the new Global Centre for Cybersecurity plans to address this double-standard.

The Role of Technology Companies in Monitoring Content

British Prime Minister Theresa May took technology leaders to task in Davos, accusing them of not doing enough to collaborate with world governments to police social networks. Ms. May decried social networks for failing to police their platforms for content that supports terrorism and child abuse (pornography). She urged investors to pressure entities like Facebook and Twitter to use their significant resources to better monitor for fake news, hate speech and other forms of abuse. While this might appear to be a reasonable goal, giving governments the right to step in to determine what “fake news” is has obvious dangers. Likewise, the call for social networks to reveal real identities on the internet might be abused by authoritarian governments wishing to crack down on dissent and free speech.

The new global initiative is a step in the right direction. However, an effective cure for cybercrime has been elusive to date and may prove a significant challenge to this new international agency.

]]>What's New in Technology

Net Neutrality - What's All the Fuss About?

According to the pundits, the Dec. 14 move by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to repeal existing net neutrality rules is either a major blow to free communication or a storm in a teacup. Perhaps the truth lies somewhere between these polarizing viewpoints.

It appears that those who supported dismantling the rules put in place to ensure equal access to the Internet (a concept usually known as “net neutrality”) and those who wished them to remain want the same things. Both sides say they are opposed to Internet Service Providers putting discriminatory practices in place to slow down or block certain content, and neither wants ISPs to charge users more to see certain websites. The disagreement appears to center on how fair play on the Internet should be enforced and who exactly does the enforcing. Not surprisingly, President Trump’s appointee to the FCC, Chairman Ajit Pai, believes less government regulation will be more beneficial, and that broadband should not be regulated as if it were a utility.

Most software companies disliked the FCC’s recent repeal of the Obama era regulations. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs also voiced their opposition to the repeal, fearing that the big ISPs will take advantage of their “gatekeeper” role. On the other hand, telecommunications companies were glad to see them repealed. The naysayers believe there are clear dangers in allowing market players to also be guardians of net neutrality. They argue that big telecom companies are already dabbling in preferential Internet usage practices to steer consumers to their sister companies and that Pai’s repeal opens the door for more ploys of this nature.

Here’s some of the history behind the headlines and some of the key issues to ponder:

Before 2015, Internet Service Providers were governed by general laws regarding anti-competitive policies and consumer protection. In 2015, under President Obama, ISPs were classified as utilities and so-called net neutrality rules were put in place to stop ISPs from slowing down service, blocking access or requiring payment to favor certain content providers.

When Ajit Pai, who had voted against the 2015 reclassification in his role as an FCC Commissioner, was nominated by President Trump to take over the top job, industry observers knew a reversal was on the horizon. Pai contends that heavy-handed government regulation inhibits innovation and investment.

Net neutrality existed prior to launch of the 2015 regulations. It might be argued that now, in 2017, we are back to pre-2015 conditions and that there is no call for the alarmist clamor.

On the other hand, Pai’s critics note that a neutral Internet is not guaranteed to last. Major companies already are deploying preferential usage patterns to boost sales – for example, AT&T customers who access DIRECTV Now (which AT&T owns) are able to do so without that access counting as part of their data package. AT&T competitors like T-Mobile and Verizon also have similar setups. This practice – zero rating – was scrutinized by the FCC under the Obama era regulations but, following Pai’s repeal, it isn’t any longer. Vertical integration by major ISPs is on the increase, and there could be a strong incentive for these industry leaders to favor their own content over all-comers.

Lawmakers have the power to overturn this recent decision, and to propose their own laws to provide some stability to the regulatory environment. Small business owners who want to see a fair and level playing field will want to continue to monitor this situation.

The calculator update in Jan 2018, will have all tax calculators updated for the 2017 tax year (for taxes payable for 2017 on returns that are to be filed on or before April 15th 2018). New versions of the tax calculators normally are released as part of the March 31st update package, we are planning on getting a version out sooner with all of the attention to the tax law.]]>Are Cyber Attacks Acts of War?

Last month, the European Union Community made headlines with their release of a diplomatic document that, for the first time, defines cyber-terrorism by a foreign power as an act of war. The EU document is expected to say that member states may respond to online espionage or cyber-attacks against their infrastructure or political processes with conventional weaponry in “the gravest of circumstances.” Coming at a time when we have seen months of media coverage worldwide of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 Presidential Election, as well as concerns in France and Germany regarding similar sabotage of their recent democratic processes, this move is regarded as an important step in redefining what nations regard as hostile to their sovereignty.

The issue is not new. News reports back in 2011 outlined the Pentagon’s warnings about the danger that cyber-terrorism posed to national security, and began the debate regarding when cyber-attacks may be considered to be acts of war.

By developing a diplomatic document that begins to clarify this issue, the European Union member nations are bringing it into the spotlight, and setting up a process that is expected to produce a similar response in the United States. This initiative aligns the EU community with NATO’s decision to regard cyber-attacks on one member as legitimate NATO business – or in other words, it means a serious online attack mounted against one nation could trigger NATO’s involvement through existing treaties that involve Europe’s collective defense.

Security experts in the cyber-crime community are not surprised by this move. They see how public outrage has been building. Ransomware attacks – many of which were paid off by large companies without any publicity – suddenly hit the big time when WannaCry ransomware attacks sabotaged the National Health Service in the U.K., forcing operating rooms to close and locking patients and their doctors out of the system. U.K. government minister Ben Wallace has gone on record saying his government is as “sure as possible” that North Korea was behind the WannaCry attack. This North Korean cyber group known as Dragonfly and believed to be state-sponsored, is also suspected of recently trying to hijack U.S. energy facilities.

In recent months, French and German government officials have alleged that North Korean and/or Russian hackers made attacks on their respective electoral processes in 2017. Russia, in particular, has been identified as the home of cyber-attackers who use social media and phishing platforms to try to affect election outcomes.

Digital attacks do not have laws and norms surrounding them like traditional acts of war. Nations have a long history of guidelines that define what constitutes hostile force – inflicted by one nation on another – but we don’t have similar metrics for online attacks. The recent European initiative is an attempt to address this. It will not be an easy matter. We may be able to form a consensus on what defines a cyber-attack used for espionage or to seriously disrupt a nation’s political or economic infrastructure, but it could prove more difficult to show that the attack is linked to an official government organization.

One thing is clear. Cyber-attacks will remain a major source of concern for world leaders in 2018.

]]>The Importance of Quantum Computing

To understand what quantum computing is and why scientists find it exciting, we need to understand how traditional computing works. Today’s computers use switching and memory units – known as transistors – to store and retrieve data. These transistors handle many of the tasks calculators used to handle. Transistors have become much smaller – almost as small as an atom – but essentially, they function just like the old calculators using a sequence of bits 0-1 (you can think of these as on-off) known as a binary system. This processes the data we provide by following a pre-arranged set of instructions, known as a program.

Binary Process

We have come a very long way with this binary process. Our computers can do some complicated processing and sorting tasks by using a string of binary mathematical operations known as an algorithm. Google and other search engines use algorithms to make the sorting process very fast. The binary system of conventional computing basically does the addition, subtraction and/or multiplication almost instantly.

So why do we need a different way of computing? Miniaturization has given us the ability to pack hundreds of millions of transistors on a chip of silicon about the size of a fingernail. However, as computer technology continues to advance, the more information we need to store, the more bits and transistors we need. Currently, our transistors are as small as we can make them. Most computer tasks we do are unlikely to max out computer power because they need more transistors than our computers can house. However, as computers continue to handle complex computing problems on behalf of companies (and private and public organizations), they will hit a ceiling and exceed the capacity and capability currently available. Scientists refer to these no-go situations as intractable problems – problems traditional computing cannot solve. Quantum computing – using atomic particles – is seen as a possible answer to the capacity and time limitations inherent in binary systems.

Quantum Computing

Quantum theory deals with atoms and the subatomic particles they contain. Atoms do not obey the basic rules of traditional physics. In quantum computing, qubits take the place of bits. Unlike a bit that is restricted to a binary system (think 0-1 or on-off), an atomic qubit can store an infinite range of values between 0 and 1 in multiple states. Don’t worry too much about understanding exactly how it works, just remember this means quantum computing could do multiple things at the same time – unlike conventional computing, which does a series of things one at a time – and that it could work up to millions of times faster than our current binary systems.

Will quantum computing render traditional computing obsolete? No, that is unlikely. Most of us will not need such powerful computing technology. And the commercial launch of quantum computing is by no means a certainty. It’s been about 30 years since researchers began to discuss quantum computing theory, and we have seen some significant progress in the past seven or eight years, with Google and MIT both producing prototypes. Researchers estimate we won’t see mainstream quantum computing for some years. Interestingly, if/when quantum computing comes of age, it would have huge impact on our current encryption technology (encryption is really the deliberate manufacture of an intractable problem). Now, that might be something for us all to think about.

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What's New in Technology

Small Business Embracing Chatbot Technology

In the past, small business owners sometimes lacked the resources – both financial and human – to capitalize upon the latest productivity and customer service technologies. Fortunately, the pace of change and the proliferation of new software programs have begun to make innovative technology accessible and affordable. Chatbots – software programs that can hold a two-way conversation with people – are a prime example of accessible and affordable technology.

Why Now?

Language is a complex process and, until recently, teaching a machine how to understand different jargon, accents and all the other variables involved in speech was only partially successful. Today, programmers use different methods to teach a machine to learn a language through experience, which is why the iPhone’s Siri gets better at understanding what you want the longer you use it. As the chatbots have become smarter, consumers have become happier dealing with them. In your everyday life, it is likely that you encounter chatbots in various modes – confirming a doctor’s appointment, ordering prescription medications or conducting simple financial transactions with your bank.

The technology research group Gartner has predicted that customers will soon interact via chatbots and other AI technology for a whopping 85 percent of their dealings with various companies used for personal and business purposes.

Small Businesses Reap Benefits

As consumer acceptance has increased, many small businesses have been quick to adopt chatbot technology to provide a consistent and affordable level of quality in customer service. Even businesses that provide professional services, such as banks and financial institutions, are using technology to manage and answer simple requests, forwarding more complex inquiries to a human being. For many small businesses, putting a live chatbot tool on their website to respond to questions typed in by website visitors has proven invaluable, providing a degree of customized service that a small firm with just a few employees would find difficult to deliver.

Chatbot’s Fastest Growth

Experts suggest we should expect to see chatbots take off in a variety of business sectors – especially those where customer service is a make or break proposition.

Restaurants – Some national restaurant chains are already using chatbots that customers can access through their Facebook messenger (instant messaging service) account to order food for delivery. Other quick-service chains have installed bots that act like waiters – answering questions, reading the menu, making recommendations and handling payment transactions.

Education or training – Facebook recently developed an experimental program –modeled on Albert Einstein – to provide answers and conduct conversations with consumers. This could be the springboard for a variety of educational purposes, using historical or fictional characters to make education accessible and fun for more people.

Personal Assistants – Consumers are becoming more comfortable with using voice commands for a variety of purposes in their work and home life. Perhaps the best-known examples are services like Amazon Echo and Google Home. These home-based assistants are connected to an operating system and can obey commands that include reprogramming heat/cooling systems, playing music or looking online for movies playing nearby. There are many ways they can assist people who run home-based businesses – locating a delivery service, determining where the nearest Fed Ex pickup point is, or finding flight and hotel recommendations.

Chatbots may be a relatively new trend in many industries, but their efficacy in natural and sophisticated customer dialogue suggests that they will play an increasingly important role in the future.

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How to Protect Yourself from the Equifax Data Breach

The massive Equifax breach means consumers need to be on guard against data thieves. The credit-rating company hack earlier this year left approximately 143 million people’s personal information exposed and vulnerable. Here are the steps you take to help protect yourself in the wake of this event.

1) Determine the exposure of your information: Go to Equifax's website here and follow the instructions provided. You’ll need your Social Security number handy to complete the check and to tell if you've been impacted by the breach.

2) Enroll for free credit monitoring: Regardless of exposure, consumers who have information under Equifax are entitled to free credit monitoring for one year, along with other monitoring and protective services. You can learn more about what is available here.

3) Monitor your credit reports and accounts for unusual activity: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, the three major credit reporting companies, are required to supply you with a credit report free of charge once every 12 months. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request them. Once you have the reports, monitor them to ensure there are no unauthorized accounts, incorrect personal information or credit inquiries you didn’t initiate. These are signs of fraud and you should follow up on them to ensure you weren’t the victim of identity theft.

4) Consider implementing a credit freeze: If you see suspicious activity or are highly concerned, you can place a credit freeze to help deter an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name. Visit the consumer information section of the Federal Trade Commission website to learn more about credit freezes and how to activate one.

5) Set up fraud alerts: Fraud alerts require potential creditors to verify your identity before they can open an account, issue a new card or increase a credit limit. Remember that fraud alerts won’t necessarily prevent identity theft, but they will make it much harder for someone with your personal information to use it.

]]>What is Smart Luggage?

There are several brands of smart luggage out there. The brands you might encounter more frequently are Raden, Bluesmart and Away. Other brands include Horizn and Néit. There are some differences in features and price points, but most offer the following:

Apps that connect to your luggage using Bluetooth; and

Features that include proximity alarms to warn you if you are at a specific gate and your bag is somewhere else, distance indicators, the ability to weigh contents and the means to charge your portable electronics on the go.

Depending on how much time you spend traveling each week and how much use you would get out of the various apps, this new smart technology might appeal to you.

Most brands offer checked bag and carry-on sized bags. They feature TSA-approved battery packs to allow you to charge your device on the go. This might be helpful if you dash frequently from the plane to a taxi, or if crowds make finding a charging station impossible. There is a charging cable in the bag in many models – Raden offers USB ports next to the bag’s handles, which is very handy. Some products have battery packs that can be removed from the suitcase, allowing you access when your bag is stashed in the hold or baggage compartment.

Many offer a weight sensor, which is especially handy if you check your baggage frequently and need to know if your bag meets the airline’s weight limits. To use this feature, you calibrate it with the bag empty, pack and pick it up to have the sensor give you a weight reading.

Some offer a companion app for flight information (gate, departure time, weather alerts, etc.), which also includes a sensor that lets you know how far away the bag is located. The sensor might be helpful if you are waiting at a luggage carousel hoping your bag made a tight connection. Most frequent fliers have a slew of apps on portable devices that can deliver flight information, and so this particular app might be redundant for many business travelers.

Drawbacks include the price and potential issues with TSA. You will pay about $300 or more for a carry-on and $400 and upward for larger pieces. Although TSA has approved these bags, there is always the chance that this new type of bag may puzzle some TSA workers.

Summary

Smart luggage can offer some handy features to busy travelers. You might wish to check out the possibilities if you like exploring the latest in personal tech – and if you are willing to pay significantly more for your luggage. Also consider that if you usually travel with carry-ons only, many of the bells and whistles smart bags offer duplicate those on your smart phone or tablet. Airlines have made it easier to recharge electronics in-flight, so the battery pack features are less important than they might have been a few years ago. Also, the location finder feature is redundant if your bag is a carry-on and is stowed close at hand.

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Automakers & Cybersecurity Pros Collaborate to Tackle Growing Threat

Over the past three or four years, Internet-connected vehicles have become the norm. Accordingly, cybercrooks have turned their attention to cars and trucks, looking for ways to gain access to vehicular navigational systems and to hack into drivers’ smart phones and iPads. Last year, recognizing the ever-increasing potential for breaches, automakers in the United States joined forces to battle the threat, tapping the expertise of some of the nation’s leading Internet security experts. Here’s an update on what these efforts have yielded.

Self-driving vehicles have opened up a whole new area of concern. White-hat hackers have shown – in controlled situations – how vehicles could be hijacked to harm their occupants or generate mayhem on a busy highway. These security specialists have demonstrated how vehicles – especially the new breed of semi-autonomous or driverless vehicles – might be tracked and manipulated remotely by cybercrooks. The demonstrations have shown how cybercrooks could take control of a vehicle’s headlights, navigation, speed, windshield wipers, blinkers and radio. In some instances, hackers can remotely take control of brakes and/or steering.

So far, no vehicle has been hacked into by a cybercriminal, but security experts and researchers have shown automakers how it could happen, and car manufacturers have taken the threat seriously. Cars with advanced connectivity – which includes prototype driverless or semi-autonomous vehicles – are potentially more vulnerable. Twenty years ago, the average car had about 1 million lines of code; today, cars can have 10 million lines of code, or about as much as a modern aircraft. Automakers have already felt the financial sting of this new cyberthreat. Major manufacturers are busy recruiting white-hat hackers to identify potential issues. For example, Fiat Chrysler recalled 1.4 million Jeep Cherokees after white-hat hackers exposed vulnerabilities in the vehicle’s IT circuitry.

There is strength in industrywide initiatives. Nearly all automakers based in the United States banded together last year in an industrywide effort – the Automotive Information Sharing and Analysis Center – to develop best practices to combat potential cyberthreats, to develop secure hardware and software, and to draw up guidelines on how to respond to hacking incidents. The industry group’s membership is responsible for about 98 percent of the vehicles on U.S. roads.

The challenge to strengthen cybersecurity in vehicles extends beyond car manufacturers. The notable gig economy transport company, Uber, as well as Didi, a Chinese company like Uber, have both been on the forefront of research to develop safer software and hardware and uncover potential security issues. The possible motivations for hackers to hijack vehicles are many and go beyond compromising highway safety. Smart phones and/or other portable computers that are linked to vehicles’ dashboard technology also present a potential entry point into other data centers housing confidential business and personal data.

Savvy consumers will recognize that the vehicles we drive are now a big part of the Internet of Things, and will take measures to shore up security on any personal devices they connect to their dashboards. Automakers will need to be constantly proactive to identify vulnerabilities in computers installed in new model vehicles.

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What Impact Will the Repeal of Online Privacy Laws Have on You?

The recent repeal of an Obama-era law that would have required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to obtain users’ permission before sharing their personal data with marketers and other third parties has created dissent within the technology sector. Not surprisingly, major ISPs like AT&T and Comcast backed the repeal effort, arguing that the law was unfair and that they would have been subject to stricter controls than companies like Facebook and Google. Consumer advocates believe the repeal will be detrimental to online privacy.

The repealed law, which was passed in October 2016 and included new rules created by the Federal Communications Commission, had yet to go into effect, so consumers probably won’t notice much difference. ISPs have been in the practice of monitoring network traffic – which means they can see which devices you use and which websites you visit – and sharing that information with third parties such as advertisers. An overview of how this might affect you follows.

Is This Repeal a Big Deal?

Many consumer advocates involved with internet privacy issues believe this is a big deal. The new FCC rules would have created much stronger privacy protection for internet users. The law, which was passed just before President Trump’s election, would have required ISPs to get a clear go-ahead from users to share personal data – including precise location information, financial data, health information, Social Security numbers, app usage history, as well as information on the users’ children. In addition, the new legislation would have allowed users to protect less sensitive personal data such as email addresses.

Why has the New Administration Repealed It?

The new FCC chief, Ajit Pai, has said that the repeal would help level the playing field, citing that the new rules would have benefited “one group of favored companies over another group of disfavored companies.” He vowed to protect consumer privacy through a “consistent and comprehensive framework.” This response did little to reassure advocates of internet privacy rights. A group known as Fight for the Future issued a statement decrying Congress’ move, saying “…they care more about the wishes of the corporations that fund their campaigns than the safety and security of their constituents.” This group has launched a billboard campaign to identify the members of Congress who backed the repeal.

What Can You Do to Safeguard Your Data Online?

Some privacy advocates are recommending that consumers use a virtual private network (VPN) to hide their browsing history and data from internet service providers. A VPN can also mask your location. If you wish to explore this option, be aware that VPNs are linked to service providers, which means it is incumbent on you to find a VPN whose privacy policies match yours. There is software available that also can hide your location and identity. These solutions have their issues, too. Some broadcasters – like Netflix – block VPN users from accessing their content. Software that hides your location and identity might slow your browsing down somewhat.

Internet privacy has been a hot issue for some time. These latest moves are likely to keep the topic in the headlines in the months ahead.

]]>Free Up Space on Your iPhone

If you keep a lot of data on your iPhone without a periodic cleanup, you’ll reach a point when you don’t have available space for the apps you want to access most. The default settings in your phone contribute to the overload in many instances. In some situations, you can free up storage by overriding these defaults to better suit your needs. For others, you’ll need to better manage your storage capacity. Here’s how:

Figure out what is eating up your storage. This way you’ll make informed decisions about what is important to you to keep and what isn’t. Open up Settings then follow General to Storage and iCloud to Storage to Manage Data. This will let you see how much space your photographs, videos, podcasts and music are using. Your apps will be ranked according to how much space they require.

Delete Text Messages. By default, your iPhone stores all your text messages. If you are an avid text user, this gobbles up significant storage space. There are two easy ways to address this – either get in the habit of deleting messages manually, or change the default to delete messages every 30 days. You can do this by going into your Settings and tapping on Messages. Scroll through until Message History pops up. Here’s where you will find the option of keeping Forever, 30 Days or 1 Year. Pick whichever works best for you.

Hone in on Photos. This is where most of us use lots of storage space. Try these tips:

Avoid inadvertently using the Burst mode, which takes a series of super-fast shots (and often happens by accident if your finger lingers just a split second too long on the screen button) by using the volume control button to take a shot rather than the sensitive screen button.

Avoid saving duplicate copies of High Dynamic Range (HDR) photos by opening Photo & Camera in Settings. Scroll to the bottom and deselect the box next to Keep Normal Photos.

Turn offautomatic Photo Sharing in Photo & Camera and manually turn on this feature only when you really want to share pictures.

Rely on the iCloud Photo Library to store your pictures rather than your mobile device and turn off the Photo Stream setting on your phone. Your photos will remain stored on other devices (iPad and/or computer) that are linked via iCloud.

Delete iBooks you are not reading currently and consider consolidating your music collection via the cloud with iTunes Match. You might want to keep your current page-turner on your iPhone, but do you really need your entire library to be duplicated on your phone? You can selectively remove copies from your phone (Delete this copy) without deleting them from your iPad. In a similar way, iTunes Match (less than $24 a year) stores every track you have and lets you selectively download onto your iPhone only when you want to hear specific tracks. There’s no need to have your entire music collection stored on your phone at all times.

Clean up your Browser. If you use Safari, your mobile phone may be storing web history you don’t need. Access Safarithrough Settingsand click on Clear History and Website Data. To clean up Google Chrome, open the app, access Historyand Clear Browsing Data.

]]>What? Not Secure?

It was secure yesterday?

There is a movement in the Tech world to change how login pages are rated in some of your favorite browsers.

What is the issue?

Chrome and Firefox are now showing a small warning about web pages with login forms when the main URL of the website does not have an SSL certificate.

Symantec reported at HostingCon Los Angeles on April 5th that in 12 months Google was planning a new algorithm to downgrade all web pages that are not under and valid SSL certificate.

What is the problem with the login box?

The IT community's conflict is that the browser can see the SSL in the embedded login page/box but it does not show that information to the end user. The browser can also see that the page embedding the login pages/box is not using an SSL.

Because of this, embedded login pages/boxes with SSLs are now caught in the middle of this somewhat controversial movement. Although an embedded login page/box with SSL is secure.

But according to Symantec in 12 months it probably will not matter as Google with try to push the world wide web toward using SSL for all web pages.

Your Options

2. Remove all iframe embedded login pages/boxes from your website and link to a URL SSL secured login page instead. This option may require custom login pages to be built and it will not meet Google's new mandate coming in the next 12 months.

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Technology: Oops! Recalling Emails

Perhaps it’s a glaring typo in a business email or a hastily written rebuke that you regret sending, but probably everyone wishes at times we could undo the send button. Depending upon which email program you use, and some other factors, you may be able to recall an email. Here’s how:

Recalling a message in Outlook with an Exchange Account is easy if both you and your recipient are using Microsoft Exchange email and you are both on the same server. You won’t be able to recall messages that you have sent to a Gmail or Yahoo account because once an email has left your server, you have no further control over it. If you and the intended recipient are both Outlook users with Exchange accounts on the same server, here’s what to do:

Navigate to Sent Folder and open the message you want to retrieve. Make sure you have the Message Tab open, and then click on Action;

From Action, select the option Recall This Message;

You will then have two options: Delete Unread Copies or Delete Unread Copies and Replace with New Message

Additional Factors that Prevent an Outlook Recall:

If the recipient gets to the email first and opens it before your recall request is received;

If the recipient’s inbox has a rule that moves your incoming email to another folder;

If the email lands in a public inbox and is opened by someone other than the intended recipient, you won’t be able to recall it;

Recall efforts will not work if the intended recipient is viewing their emails outside the Outlook Desktop Program, for example on their smart phone or iPad or through Outlook Web.

Outlook Message Transmittal Delay is usefulfor an Outlook user whouses the recall feature frequently and/or has email contacts that can’t be recalled through a common server. To activate the delay feature, navigate the File tab to find Manage Rules & Alerts. You then can set up a delayed delivery – up to 120 minutes. This feature also allows you to bypass the delayed feature for specific people and customize the conditions to suit your needs.

Recalling a Gmail message can be easy ifyou have enabled the feature that allows you to do so. With Gmail, a little advanced planning can save you from yourself. To do this, click on the Settings (the little gear symbol) in Gmail and navigate to the General tab. Check that Enable Undo is selected, and finally click on Save Change.

To recall an email using Gmail (only if you have the above-mentioned function enabled), click Cancel immediately and then click Undo when Cancel appears. You will still need to be pretty fast off the mark for this to work – at least 5 seconds to Unsend by default and up to 30 seconds if you have changed the time allotment in Setting. If you are someone who is likely to use the recall function, increase the time allotment.

Bottom line: there are some recall options for Gmail and Outlook, but there are obvious pitfalls involved in relying on them. There is often a good chance you won’t be fast enough, or that your Outlook account can’t connect with the recipient’s email program. Try to avoid sending a message any time you are angry or upset. Put your message in the Drafts folder and revisit it when you’ve had a chance to recover your composure, or when you’ve had a chance to talk to a colleague.

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Major Trends at CES

Industry gurus and eager consumers often face a tough task separating breakthrough trends from over-hyped gimmicks amidst the clamor and marketing frenzy that characterizes the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Opinions vary concerning the products, but here are some of the categories that attracted significant interest at the show.

Virtual reality as a corporate tool. VR is not new, but after more than a few years large corporations like Boeing and Ford are beginning to recognize that virtual reality can deliver in the workplace as well as in the marketplace. Sales and marketing pros are increasingly excited about how VR can give potential customers a taste of new product lines. Experts also anticipate that companies will recognize the value of VR as a low-risk training tool to improve workplace health and safety. It’s been a long time coming, but new software upgrades and improved headset design have positioned VR to expand well beyond its gaming origins. Demos using VR in a business setting attracted major crowds at the show, with attendees eager to don headsets and try out industrial/business apps for themselves.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can now anticipate needs and voice recognition goes beyond mere dictation to allow users to access and link all the various applications – such as customer management and email – to service customers while on the move. Experts believe we will see more anticipatory AI programs, such as automobile software that records driving routes and calendar information. They also can scan local traffic information to provide alternate route options to avoid traffic delays without the need for driver input.

Autonomous driving systems are designed to port airborne delivery drones and large delivery vehicles. It may take a few years for consumers to accept the idea, but transportation experts believe eventually we will see autonomous driving on major freight routes. In the meantime, expect to see more assisted-driving options in automobiles – programs that monitor for signs of driver inattention, issue suggestions for a rest break, and offer dashboard alerts for corrective action if the highway surface becomes slippery or hazardous. Think of these monitoring and driver-assistance programs as a precursor to self-driving vehicles by demonstrating how automation can support safer driving.

Inherent connectivity. Increasingly, consumers are becoming comfortable with the increased interconnectivity of the Internet. No longer will we rely on our personal interaction with visible hardware to provide the technological support for our work and leisure time. As computers have shrunk in size, we have become used to the idea of computer capabilities being embedded into products ranging from phones to automobiles and appliances – capabilities that allow these products to communicate and respond without our prompting. We can expect to see this embedded computing power to improve efficiencies and make our work and home life smoother and more productive.

]]>Tech-Fueled Marketing Trends for 2017

Technology experts anticipate that certain strong trends that debuted in 2016 will gain further momentum in the New Year. Here are some of the tactics and strategies that marketers expect to see:

Virtual reality (VR) has been around for a while, but it took its application into the gaming world to open marketers’ eyes to its potential as a sales and marketing tool. Increasing online retail business, virtual reality, and its cousin, augmented reality (AR) – the force behind the Pokémon GO phenomenon – enabled savvy marketers to provide potential customers with a novel opportunity to “try it before you buy it”. This provides an experience with which video and photography just can’t compare. VR headsets are becoming more affordable and more smart phones are becoming headset compatible. Marketers expect to see major advances and continued experimentation with both VR and AR.

Many marketers are betting that our reliance on smart phones will continue to accelerate. Desktop users are rapidly being overtaken by mobile technology users. It is no longer sufficient to have websites that are merely mobile-friendly. Forward-thinking marketing pros are encouraging clients to make their mobile internet strategy the major element in their marketing plan, ditching mobile-friendly to become mobile-centric. If your strategy is not aligned with current search engine optimization trends and mobile marketing, you could lose clients to competitors who have recognized its importance.

Alongside the rapid growth of mobile consumers is the consumer’s increasing acceptance of, and preference for, mobile payment options. Consumers’ demand for mobile payment options puts pressure on banks, phone companies and even large retailers to devise new solutions that are fast, convenient and secure. Some have forecasted that mobile payments will top $60 billion in 2017. Larger companies with multiple outlets and nationwide operations find themselves at a disadvantage here because they are unable to switch their IT infrastructure quickly to accept many of the newer mobile payment options. In this area, the flexibility of small businesses gives them a crucial advantage over the mega-merchants.

The Internet of Things (IoT) marries the advantages of mobile technology with cloud-based computing to enable devices to react to surroundings without involving human beings. It may be something as basic and practical as your thermostat at home recognizing your schedule – and that it differs on weekends – or your vehicle suggesting alternate routes based on weather and traffic patterns. We are at the very beginning of the interconnectivity that will link devices to improve efficiency and cost effectiveness. Small business ventures are just as likely – if not more so – to benefit from smart IoT technology solutions as large enterprises.

Whatever the future brings, we can be sure that technology will continue to find countless ways to increase productivity and be more responsive to customer needs. Entrepreneurs – by their very nature – have a natural advantage when it comes to flexibility and willingness to embrace change. Perhaps the biggest challenge that small business owners face is staying current and able to make informed decisions amid a rapidly changing marketing environment.